25 DECEMBER 1858, Page 3

TRACTARIAN PRACTICES.

The churchwardens of St. George's in the East have, with the consent of the Bishop of London, published a letter which that Prelate addressed to the Reverend Bryan King, rector of the parish, touching certain 'frac- tariatt innovation. Dr. Tait had an interview with Mr. King, and the letter contains the result. It seems that Mr. King and his curate on probation, Mr. Burn, recently appeared in "green vestments." The Bishop reasons with Mr. King on the subject, and states that if he con- tinue to wear the green veatment he will do so against the express orders of his bishop. Mr. King has a cure of 30,000 souls, and "thew ex- cessive ritual observances," (there are others unspecified) are a great hindrance to his usefulness. [So great, that his large church is almost empty, the congregation never exceeding 150.] Mr. Burn is directed to discontinue the "foolish vestment," and Mr. King feels aggrieved that the Bishop should bring his authority to bear on the young man. It ap- pears that Mr. Burn had given away a "Manual of Confession," which he had never read. The Bishop rebukes him for this. Complaint is made that a "catechism," teaching Romish doctrine, has been circulated. Mr. King says it has not been circulated with his sanction or knowledge. Whereupon Dr. Tait says-

" I take leave to advise, that you should let your people understand that you disapprove of this Catechism, if it is still circulating among them through any dishonest influence of those two of your curates who lately joined the Church of Rome." Dr. Tait strongly urges Mr. King. to sacrifice his private tastes which keep alive a grievous prejudice against his Ministry in the minds of his parishioners.

The Bishop of London attended a meeting of the Islington Church Extension Society, on Monday. In his speech he advocated the building of temporary structures instead of waiting until funds were collected for permanent buildings, holding that the Church is the living Church, not the fabric of stone and mortar. The common interpretation put upon church extension is that it means the raising of the permanent structure, whereas it really means the assembling together of the living members of the Church, whose bodies ought to be the temple of the Holy Ghost. Dr. Tait spoke encouragingly of the zeal displayed in the cause of religion, and expresse4 a hope it was not all outward show.

A deputation, consisting of directors and other officials of the London General Omnibus Company, waited upon the Bishop of London in St. James's Square, on Monday, for the purpose of explaining the steps they had adopted for preventing, as for as possible, any unnecessary violation of the Sabbath in the conduct of their business. The Reverend Edward P. Boyle, M.A., vicar of Hammersmith, who accompanied the deputation, informed his Lordship that the company was henceforward to be con- ducted under English rule. The French element was to be rooted out of the constituency, and the management would deserve the grateful thanks of the public for the exertions it had made for preserving the Christian Sabbath. The Bishop listened_ attentively to the various representations which were made to him, and said he would send his answer in writing The Council of the College of Surgeons, like the Senate of the Uni- versity of London, took upon itself to elect the member for the General Medical Council allotted to them. The members and fellows of the Col- lege of Surgeons regard this as an illegal act and an infringement of their rights. They say that the member of the General Council should be elected by the members and Fellows of the College of Surgeons, and not exclusively by its Council. On Monday night they held a meeting at the Freemason's Tavern, Mr. Levies in the chair, and passed resolu- tions setting forth their view of the case and empowering a committee to act as it thought most fitting for the preservation of the corporate rights of the members and fellows.

The Jury that would not deliver a verdict Lord Campbell could receive finished by delivering no verdict all. Some of them had had no food since the break of day on Friday. One, suffering from carbuncle, was relieved by a medical man. When called into court they presented an amusiws appear- ance. It is not often a starved jury appears. But they had n agreed. Lord Campbell said that was a reasonable answer, but the verdict of damages one farthing was not reasonable. Lord Campbell.—" The law contemplates that a jury may not agree. With re- OM to the time when a judge may discharge a jury, that depends upon his own discretion, and when it seems that there is danger-to life or health from longer con- finement, and that there is no reasonable prospect of the jury agreeing, a judge will discharge his duty if he releases them from further attendance. At the assizes, ac- cording to traditional law, a jury who cannot agree ought to be kept locked up as long its the assizes last, and be carried in a cart after the judge to the boundary of the next county, and there be shot into a ditch. With regard to the sitting; in London, which go on continuously for a long time, the jury are left entirely to the discretion Of the judge, and, you having sat up the whole night—I am afraid much to veer in- convenience—in obedience to the law, and I baring reason to believe that the health of one of you is in a rather precarious state, and there being no prospect of your agreeing—I now discharge you all. Such is the law at present, but I may mention that I have given notice of my intention to bring in a bill in next session of Parlia- ment to alter the law on the subject. I never would wish to encroach, on the maxim which has hitherto governed us in England that no man should be convicted of a erime unless the jury are unanimously of opinion that he is guilty ; but with regard to civil cases, my opinion is, that. if—I will not say a majority—a certain number, say nine or ten, concur in a verdict, that verdict should be taken, and acted upon, itmessit should afterwards be disapproved of by the court. I shall submit a propo- Siti0111 of that nature to the Legislature, and I hope they will agree to it. I think it will be an improvement upon the present mode of proceeding as regards juries ; bet as you cannot agree this trial must go for nothing and it will be necessary to summon another jury, who I hope will be unanimously of opinion either for the plaintilfor the defendants on the merits, and will give a verdict that may be satis- factory to the country. You are now discharged." • A juryman.—"I think we told your lordship last night that we had not agreed."

Loral Campbell.—" Well, that shows you were not agreed when you gave your verdict. '

The Jury theri left their box, and immediately retired from the court.

Li the Court of Common Pleas Mr. APGeach, a draper, has recovered 1350/. from the London and North Western Railway Company, compensa- tion for an accidencsuffered on their line in October 1857. A coupling-iron broke ; the carriages jostled together; and Mr. ArGeach sustained severe internal injuries, whinh had up to the day of trial prevented him from re- suming his employment.

• In July last a Mr. Beswick, an attorney's clerk, went to transact business in the Court of Common Pleas. He tendered half-a-sovereign in payment of a

fee of four shillings, and Lovell, the clerk, put the change on the slab. half-crown was missing. The clerk said he had put down the right change; Beswick said he had only taken up three and sixpence. The clerk aisiff" Do you mean to call me a liar?" The half-crown fell frosn Mr. Beswick's papers " to the ground. An appeal was made by the clerk to a Mr. Press, an attorney. Did be see OW ? Mr. Press gives the account of what fol- lowed. " Wlimt the half-crown dropped, am! Beswiek said it .did not' fell from him, Loyd! said to me, 'Did you see that ? ' I said,.' Tel; it. dropped from his hand or his person.' Beswick said, ' It did not,' and walked away to another part of the office. I thought the matter had end, in a minute Mr. Beswick said to me, 'Do you mean to say that ths . 7-srown

dropped from me?' I said, Yes, it certainly did.' He mid, id net;

and if you were not a " pal" of his you would not say so."f •,i4 annoyedme. - I believe pal ' is a slang term for confederate. I ,:sutioned the Plaintiff not to contradict me again, lie came up, and, placing his face insolently in my face, said, 'Do yon mean to say. that 1 had the half- crown ' I said, 'Yes' lie said, 1 had not,' and then I struck him." The result of the blow was a black eye, followed by mi action for assault brought by Besivick against Press in the Court of Queen's Bench, When the facts came out. Lord Campbell said Beswick was entitled to a verdict, but not to heavy damages, as he was not free from blame. Mr. Press had not conducted himself properly ; he had not taken an impartial •vieW ; he had imputed to &swirl( an attempt to get more than his clac. Verdict for the plaintiff; damages 10/.

Mr. John Townsend, auctioneer, undertaker, and Member for Greenwich, applied for his certificate in the Bankruptcy Court on Saturday. His debts were 32861. to unsecured creditors, and his assets would not pay the expenses of the court. The application was opposed by Mr. Lawrence for Mr. Wynn, Townsend's late partner, and Mr. George for Mr. Sheilterd lessee of the Surrey Theatre. The ground of opposition in the latter .case was that Townsend had, by means of falsc.: representations about his property, in- duced Shepherd to lend bins 200/. He spoke of his property at (lad's Hill; of his wife's expectations; of the intentions of his eonstil souls to raise a 1000/. for him. Mr. Townsend's defence was that he had simply borrowed the money promising to pay it in a few months. He said nothing at that time about the Gads Hill and his property. He had spoken of it on former occasions. It had been sold when he borrowed the money. Mr. Lawrence's case was that Townsend had induced Wynn to enter partnership with him under circumstances which when they were known to the Court of Chancery that court granted his prayer for a dissolution of partnership and gave lfim a certificate entitling him to recover his premium of 900/. This point was much disputed. In the course of his examination it was shown that Towns- end had been reduced to such a state of poverty that his wife was obliged to pledge her trinkets for small sinus. Mr. Liuklater, on behalf of Townsend, indignantly denied the charge of fraud, and imputed the falling off in Townsend's business to the incompetency of Wynn. Ile asked for a second class certificate.

One Gloucester Gale is in custody on a charge of polygamy. He appeared before the Marlborough Street Magistrate with his arm in a sling; and he limped in his walk. In ten years lie has married six women. His first wife believed him to be a commercial traveller and was therefore not surprised at his long absences. His second marriage was celebrated at Islington, taking the name of George Gordon. Ile married the third time at Chelsea as George Thomas in January last. In May he married another woman at St. George's, flatterer Square ; in July, .a fifth, at All Souls, Lanham Place ; mid in August, he married his sixth victim. He represented him- self to one as a traveller, to others as the mate of a ship ; one he told that he was going to present to her Majesty a rare wild boast; and the last victim he sent on the morning after her wedding day into Devonshire to hire and furnish a house. She never saw him again. The police have been some time engaged in hunting him down.

The great omnibus case came again before Mr. Paynter, the Westminster Magistrate, on Tuesday. Since the last examination the rival companies have been engaged in an abortive attempt to come to terms. "The Saloon Company have determined to go on with the charge of conspiracy. They brought two new witnesses. William Lucky, formerly a driver of the Gene- ral Omnibus Company, deposed to several occasions on which he had re- ceived positive directions to " stick " to the other (Saloon) omnibuses, and that he lost his licence in consequence thereof. Charles Butler, a conductor of the Saloon Company, deposed to various instances in which he had been followed, even oft' his road, by General Company Omnibuses. One even staved by him once when he had a pole broken, and did not go away until ordered by a superior authority. Another omnibus waited upon him while he had a horse shoed. "On another day, in the same week, White followed me all the day. On that occasion White had no conductor. I observed it as he was going over London Bridge. I remarked to him that he had no conductor. He observed that he had orders from Mr. Baker to stick to me wherever I went, and that he had got in disgrace the day before. He had left the conductor at dinner, and went off upon seeing me start." The ease was adjourned.